Orchard-heater.



A. D. WARD.

ORCHARD HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1910. L01 6,907., Patented Feb. 6, 1912.

Wv/TNESSES:

v /m/E/vro A TTOHNE ABRAHAM award),A or PALISADE, COLORADO.

. ORCHARD-Emana.

To all whom z't may concem:

B e it knownthat I,- ABRAHAM D. WARD, a citizen of the' United States, and resident of Palisade, in the county of Mesa and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Orchard- Heaters, of which the, following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in orchard heaters for maintaining the temperature of the air above the'freezing point so as to prevent the blossoms and young fruit from being injured or killed by frost and freezing. The objects of my invention are, first: to provide a heater adapted to use the cheaper hydrocarbons such as crude petroleum and distillate oil as fuel, the heater comprising a storage reservoir or tank of suiiicient capacity to hold the desired quantity of the oil, and being providedl with a generatorburner or burners, whereby the surface combustion of the oil may be confined to the area inclosed Within the burner which will generate gas within the reservoir which is admitted to the burner and consumed with the oil therein, thereby liberating more heat i with less smoke .than if the oil only was burned in an open receptacle; and, second: to provide a pluralit of such burners in a common fuel reservoir whereby the rate ofcombustion may be regulated and controlled by varying the number of burners in operation as required by variations in the temperature. I attain these objects by means of the mechanism shown in the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top view of the heater. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the heater .on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional viewI on the line 3 @3 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters referto similar parts in each of the views.

Y The storage reservoir or tank 5 is pref-v I erably rectangular in shape and of a sufv need protection during icient size to contain oil enough to burn as many hours as the orchard I nay probably the season, thereby to reill the heaters making it unnecessary the day following, or, as is frequently the Specication of Letters Patent. Application mea :une s, 1910? serial" No. 565,299.

ratentearet. 6,1912.

ings 7 which are preferably five in number and arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The generator-burners 9. which are tapering and open at both ends are secured at their upper ends in these openings and are of such length that when the cover is in place their lower ends will rest on the bottom of the oil reservoir. `The notches 10 serve to admit oil freely into the generatorburners so that the surface level of the oil therein will at all times be the same as that in the reservoir. A number of small openings 11 near the top ofthe generator-burners are within the reservoir into the burner where it is consumed.

A diaphragm 12 is provided which is secured to the cover 6 and has numerous small perforations 13 therein. The space thus 75 formed between the cover 6 and the diaphragm 12 provides a gas stoiagie reservoir. T he perforationspll in the generator-burners and the perforations 13 in the diaphragm 12 are made small enoughto etfectually pre- 8O vent back ri'ng or the passageof any lame from within the generator-burner to the gas or oil outside of the generator-burner.

' Individual covers 8 which may be pivoted as shown kare provided for each of the eneratOr-burners. These covers serve to e ectually prevent the entrance of rain or snow into the oil reservoir through the generatorburners when the heaters are in Toperation.

They serve also to extinguish or entirely prevent combustion within any one of the generator burners when closed.

The reservoirs being made large enough to contain a suflicient supply of oil t'o last through the season when killing frosts may be expected no other storage tanks or clsterns will be needed. When a supply of Oil is purchased it will be at once placed 1n these reservoirs which at the proper time are apart. When the temperature falls to the danger point the cover of the central generator-burner is opened as shown in Fig. 1 and the Oil surface. confined within the burner rovided to admit the gas generated 70 on the ground at suitable distances is then ignited by any of the usual ignit-'105 in devices. The operation being very quickly performed enables one man to light all of the heaters in orchard of/ not more than ten' acres. The heat from the burning oil within the central generator-burner soon begins to generate gas from the oil outside of said generatorurner which rises up the reservoir 5 and is provided with open-.

through the perforations 13 and thence passes through the perforations l1 into the generator-burner. This gasmixed with some air is ignited as it enters the generatorburner and adds to 'the volume of heat. As the temperature falls lower and more heat is required, the covers of one or more additional generator-burners may be opened, and as they are opened 'the gas therein will ignite spontaneously from the central flame. Should the temperature of the air rise again and less heat be required, a portion or all of the flames may be instantly extinguished by closing the plvoted covers 8. The temperature of the orchard may thus be maintained substantially stationary atl such degree as will insure protection from frost without any'waste of fuel. The combustion of the oil is very complete and the supply of oxygen to each dame is ample so that but little smoke is produced.l

l am aware that perforated burners have been used heretofore in oil receptacles or resvervoirs, but in all such prior devices the perforations have been designed primarily for admitting sulicient air to the flame within the burner in order to sustain combustion and render it more complete. has been made to prevent back firing or the ignition of the oil in the receptacle outside of the burner.

I believe I am the I'irst to use a generator burner open at the top and bottom which is so constructed that the flame therein cannot be communicated to the oil or gas generated therefrom outside of said burner. This makes it practical to use a yplurality of burners in a common reservoir, one or more of which may bein operation as required, without any liability of the oil or gas contained within the reservoir becoming ignited and .consumed wastefully. The use of several such smaller independent burners instead of the usual single flame or burner heretofore used in orchard heaters not only renders the combustion more complete but also allows an economical regulation of the heat by using only such a number of the burners as may No provision notano? be required' to maintain the temperature above the freezing point. llhe use of many small independent burners or dames is more eective since they serve to heat a considerable volume of air to a moderate temperature while a large flame or burner will heat the surrounding air to a much higher temperature thereby creating a rapid upward draft which quick-ly carries a large part of the heat above the tree tops where it is wastefully dissipated. This, with the very perfect combustion of the oil and gas makes -niy heater very economical in its consumption of fuel. l/V hen the danger of frost is past the heaters may be removed to a suitable place and stacked up, with any residue of oil remaining therein, until needed another season.

lt will be evident that the number and relative location of the generator-burners may be varied as desired. The number and total area of the generator-burners should be such that when all of them are in action the volume of gas generated should be the maximum possible to be generated from the volume of oil contained in the tank.

What claim as my invention is .ln an orchard neater the combination with an oil storage reservoir, of a cover fitted thereon having openings therein, a perforated diaphragm located a short distance below the reservoir cover, a plurality of tapering generator burners open at both ends and having the larger upper ends secured within the openings in said cover and extending to the bottom of the reservoir, said burners having inlets in the lower ends to admit oil to the burners, and numerous perforations `in said burners between the reservoir cover and diaphragm, which are sufficiently small to prevent the passage of flame from the burner to the reservoir.

Signed at Clifton in the county of Mesa and State of Colorado May'A. D. 1910.

ABRAHAM D.A WARD.

Witnesses:

HARRY W. PATTEN, LOUIS V. GOUDEY. 

